Sunday, December 19

Even a route one has travelled before often holds surprises. And so it was during the Country Ramble yesterday. You see, on the way, it turned out the tallest structure in Texas; nearly six hundred feet taller than the Empire State Building, stood just outside little ol' Rosston.

When I saw this, I immediately harkened back to Limon's post about amateur radio here. That provocative post prompted a counter post about short wave tradition by John Romeo Alpha, here. My working description of this mysterious tower I didn't even notice last year: "The Flat Tire Tower." I guess we are influenced and sensitized by things we read.

As it turns out, with added research, things ARE bigger here in Texas. This thing is no backyard ham radio antenna. It's actually 2000 feet tall, which is nearly six hundred feet above the spire of the Empire State Building in New York City. Rosston, besides being home to the Rosston General Store, is home to the ERA LIBERMAN BROADCAST TOWER. While the main function of this tower is to broadcast Spanish Country music, it also serves as an amateur radio repeater. So, I might note that this tower is a distant relative of those "big" backyard antennae that ham radio operators are noted for.

Oh, not only is this much taller than anything in NYC (or Chicago or Los Angeles), it is tied with several other towers as the highest anywhere in the US. Apparently, there is an FCC rule that limits tower height to 2000 feet.

In passing, you will note the little blob way down in the lower lefthand corner of the tower photo? Well, that blob is a collection of cool, rusting, old cars (mostly Fords) that I showed after last year's Ramble. One of them, a touch rustier than last year, may be seen below:
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7 comments:

I would be willing to bet that an oil pipeline goes somewhere near the guy wires of that tower. It was my experience that radio towers attract pipelines about the same as airports. The busier the airport the more pipelines that cross it. To an airline pilot these towers don't mean much. To a pipeline patrol pilot anything over 100 feet tall must be known about as they are patrol aeroplane killers. To a cross country small airplane flyer they are heart stopping. There is real danger in going out and feeling your way under the overcast in low visibility like I did in my youth. There are many deadly surprises. I found that 500 foot towers could grow from the jungle to 500 feet in less that 7 days.Scared me but then I scared the guy finishing the light on top so there was some compensation.Finding a 2000 foot tower unexpectedly when flying at 500 feet is adrenaline city.

Damn! you have stumbled upon the top secrect La Rueda Pinchada Espanol.We must now evacuate and relocate to another undisclosed location so we may continue our plan of world conquest and domination.In a kindler, gentler way, of course.

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Subject MatterMostly it's about local transportation cycling, as it exists in the here and now. It's got a smattering of other gratuitous toy recreation thrown in to keep y'all a little off balance. For those that don't know me, toy recreation means English & Italian cars, aircraft - and downhill skiing.